Improvement in wagons



J. s. WILSON.

Wqgon.

No; 99,043. Patented Jan. 18,1870.

fiat-wt dill-lite.

JAMES s. WILSON, or ALLEGHENY, or PITTsBuRc,

ASSIGNOR TO PHELPS, PARK 8: (10., PENNSYLVANIA.

Letters Patent No. 99,043, dated January 18, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN WAG-CNS.

The Schedule referred to in these LetteraPatent and making part of the same.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J AMES S. WILSON, of the city and county of Allegheny, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Wagons; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists in so pivoting the front of a wagon, that by turning the plane of the axle obliquely to the longitudinal plane of the coupling-pole or body of the wagon, the front axle will move sideways, and cause it and its wheels to be drawn back toward the hind axle, thereby contracting the length of the running gear.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawing, which forms part of my specification- Figure 1 is a top view or plan of my improvement in wagons.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Figure '3 is a section of the front running gear, when out through at, line y of fig. 1.

Figure 4 is a face or side view of the front axle, representing it broke off at each end.

Figure 5 is a top view of the guide-plate attached to the front axle.

In the accompanying drawingsa A represents the bed or body of the wagon, and is secured on the coupling-pole B, the back end of which is secured to the hind axle.

0 represents the wheels.

D represents the front axle, the form of which is clearly shown in figs. 1 and 4.

To the axle D is attached a guide-plate, 0, provided with openings 5 and 00.

To the front end of the coupling-pole B is attached a coupling-plate, 1, provided with a slot, 0. a

In the under side of the coupliug-pole B, directly over the slot 0 of the coupling-plate f, is a recess, a, for the head of the king-bolt h, which passes down through the slot 0 of the plate f, and openings 1 of the guide-plate e, and also through the axle D, so that the under side of the head of the king-bolt will rest on the upper side of the coupling-plate f, as shown in fig. 3.

The coupling-pole B is provided with a bolt, 1', which passes down through the opening s, inthe guide-plate e, and is held in its place by means of a screw-nut or other device.

As the construction and arrangement of the several parts of, my improvement, and the relation theybear to each other, will be readily understood from the foreing drawing, I will therefore proceed to describe the operation, which is as follows:

\Yhen the axle D is thrown in an oblique angle to the plane of the coupling-pole B, as indicated by the dotted lines in fig. 1, then the king-bolt It is moved to one end of the slot 0, and the back end of the opening s of the guide-plate e is brought up against the bolt "5, and when turning the axle I) to a right angle with the plane of the coupling-pole B, the king-bolt h will move along in the slot not the coupling-platef, and will be brought central to the plane or line of draught (indicated by line y) of the coupling-pole B, by means of the opening or slot s in the guide-plate c.

It will be observed that the axle D is pivoted to the coupling-pole B, through the medium of the king-bolt 71, bolt 1', and plates 0 and f,'providel with slots 3 0, and that the position of the king-bolt h and bolt 1', in

. the slots s and o, depend on the angle of the axle D with relation to the plane of the coupling-pole B.

The advantage of pivoting the axle D to the coupling-pole B, in the manner and by the means hereinbefore described, consists, first, in shortening up the running gear of the wagon when the axle D is turned obliquely to the plane of the coupling-pole B, as shown by the dotted lines in fig. 1 and second, in being able to turn the axle D at a more acute angle, with relation to the plane of the coupling-pole B, than can be obtained by the ordinary mode of pivoting the front end of wagons.

The above advantages in a wagon are of great value of many of our large cities.

-Having thus described the nature, construction, operation, and advantages of my improvement,

hat I claim as my invention, is

'lhe combination and arrangement of the bolts h and i, dates 0 and f, provided with slots 8 and 0, when used in connection with the axle D and coupling-pole B, the whole being constructed, arranged, and operating substantially as herein described, and for the purpose set forth.

J. S. \VILSOX.

\Vitnesses:

A. Q. JOHNSTON,

JAMES G. THOMPSON.

going description, and by reference to the accompanyin narrow roads and streets where room is a consideration, as-is the case in the narrow and crowded streets 

